A man with schizophrenia who attacked a homeless individual using a metal scaffolding pole in a Nottingham city centre alleyway will remain confined to a secure facility until officials determine he has recovered sufficiently. Otis McDevitt, 35, received a hospital order rather than a custodial sentence after the court was told his severe mental health condition was the driving factor behind the attempted murder. Had his illness not been a factor, he would have been handed a 25-year jail term. Instead, treatment will continue for an extended period before any consideration of discharge into the community.
The case was heard that McDevitt struck the vulnerable victim repeatedly in the head following the unprovoked assault, causing injuries so severe that emergency surgery was necessary to keep him alive. The attack occurred beside a Tesco Express store on Upper Parliament Street at approximately 11.30pm on May 9, 2023. Just three days afterward, while receiving care at a mental health facility in the city, McDevitt launched a sudden assault on another patient using a pool cue, resulting in the loss of several teeth.
Presiding over sentencing at Nottingham Crown Court, Judge Stuart Rafferty KC stated that psychiatric experts who assessed McDevitt concluded he understood his actions and was capable of forming an intention to kill. The judge explained that on the evening in question, McDevitt was seated on a public bench when two individuals walked past, prompting him to follow them into a nearby alleyway where he began his attack. One victim managed to escape with minimal harm because McDevitt had not yet retrieved the metal bar he subsequently used to beat the second man repeatedly about the head. The judge noted that the victim sustained severe physical and psychological harm from which he will never fully recover.
The hospital order means McDevitt can only be released when either the Secretary of State or a mental health tribunal deems it suitable. The judge emphasised that in all probability he would remain in hospital receiving treatment for many years to come.
The prosecution outlined how the most severe assault occurred in the alleyway beside the Tesco Express store. The defendant had forced the homeless man to the ground before kicking, stamping on, and striking his head with a glass bottle and a metal pole, inflicting injuries that threatened his life. A second man was also assaulted during the same incident. Three days later, while an inpatient at Highbury Hospital, McDevitt committed another violent act against a fellow patient, hitting him in the face with a pool cue and knocking out teeth. The primary victim has no recollection of the assault, the last thing he recalled being pleading with McDevitt not to harm him. McDevitt stamped repeatedly on the man’s head and struck him with a glass bottle before picking up a scaffolding pole and bringing it down on his head multiple times. The victim’s cries eventually stopped during this prolonged attack.
Two students observed McDevitt carrying out the assault, with one watching him strike the second victim multiple times on the head with the pole. The student reported that the sound of the victim being struck grew progressively quieter as the blows continued. The man was rushed to the Queens Medical Centre for emergency surgery, where doctors discovered bleeding on the brain alongside multiple fractures to the forehead, eye sockets, cheekbone, and jaw. He underwent an operation on May 13 to repair his broken jaw through an incision in his neck, during which several teeth were also extracted.
The court heard that by May 12, 2023, McDevitt had been detained under mental health legislation at Highbury Hospital in Nottingham. On that same day, while playing pool with a support worker, he suddenly struck another patient in the face with a pool cue. A healthcare assistant who observed the incident immediately noticed that teeth had been knocked out and noted that McDevitt wore a completely blank expression throughout.